-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- One of the biggest holiday weeks is upon us . Thanksgiving is a favorite day for football fans , close-knit families , families who ca n't stand each other , and of course , amateur competitive eaters . But what 's really interesting about Thanksgiving is the day after -- known as Black Friday . It may well be the most publicized -- and puzzling -- commercial day of the year .

According to the National Retail Federation , last year 's Black Friday attracted more than 90 million online and in-store shoppers . Online shoppers can buy things from the comfort and safety of their homes . But what about those who succumb to mass hysteria at local megastores ? We have all seen the `` shopacalypse '' on the evening news , which appears constrained only by the flimsy protection of a few Tensabarriers and some security guys .

When you step back and think about it , it seems strange that in an era of increasing civil liability , large retailers would invite this bedlam , and the likely personal-injury lawsuits that follow . There 's even a website , www.blackfridaydeathcount.com , which tracks and compiles statistics on injuries and deaths .

Are we really surprised people get hurt on Black Friday ? Granted , it 's an open invitation to every nudnik , whose only qualifications are : 1 -RRB- They do n't have to be at work ; and 2 -RRB- they are willing to wake up at 5 a.m. to elbow their way to saving $ 3 on a Sony Discman or a Cabbage Patch Doll .

So how do we evaluate the liability of a store for injuries on its premises during Black Friday ?

Let 's take a look at common law . Once a person steps onto private property , the law traditionally considered him one of the following : 1 -RRB- trespasser ; 2 -RRB- licensee ; or 3 -RRB- invitee .

Everyone knows what a trespasser is . If you enter -LRB- or remain -RRB- on someone 's property without his consent , you are a trespasser . Deadly force can be used on an intruder in one 's home , but that 's based on defense of self , not defense of property . You can use a gun to defend yourself at home against an intruder . On the other hand , if you own an abandoned barn , you can not install trip wires attached to shotguns , poison darts , snake pits or any of the traps from the Indiana Jones movies .

You might think an `` invitee '' is someone who is just invited on to the property , say , for a cocktail party , but that 's not it . If your buddy invites you over for a Super Bowl party , you 're just considered a `` licensee . '' This means you are on the property with permission . You 're not providing your pal any business benefit , other than emotional support for his team , and divesting him of his chips and salsa . The only obligation your host has to licensees is to inform of the known danger on the property , and any not so obvious danger your host would expect you would n't know about .

An `` invitee , '' on the other hand , is someone who enters the land for a purpose connected with or benefiting the business owner . When you shop at a store , you 're considered an `` invitee . '' Historically , a landowner owed the invitee the highest duty of care , to inspect or warn of defects on the premises .

In modern times , states and courts alike have increasingly rejected these antiquated distinctions and applied a more universal `` reasonable '' standard to landowners , sometimes even to trespassers .

However , whether applying the traditional common law or a modern rule , if you are on someone 's property for the purpose of spending money , courts will hold the landowner to the highest applicable standard of care .

Even the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has acknowledged the sometimes fatal injuries suffered on Black Friday , and has published crowd management safety guidelines for retailers . OSHA and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 focus primarily on employers providing workers with safe and healthy workplaces , but their guidelines speak to preventing all injuries at retail sales events , with a specific nod to Black Friday .

The OSHA guidelines offer suggestions about where a court might look for the standards of care . According to the guidelines , there should be adequate security , and sufficient crowd control measures . A store is not automatically liable if a customer sucker-punches another customer over an X-Box , but it may be liable if the assault were foreseeable and the failure of security measures contributed to the assault .

The bottom line is that stores will be liable if people are injured by known , unsafe and nonobvious conditions on their property on Black Friday , especially if stores take no special safety or security precautions , and treat the day like any other day .

If a store knows it is expecting several times its normal traffic , it must anticipate the problems attendant to the increased foot traffic , and the potential for riffraff . It 's true that no store can ever prevent a meteor landing on the roof . No store can guarantee that another customer wo n't suddenly go mad and punch another person in the head . No amount of security can prevent the unpredictable -- it 's the same problem often encountered by stadiums when drunken sports fans attack .

But , if a store is deliberately indifferent to security problems , then it may be liable where it knowingly ignores the behavior of that riffraff . The sweet spot of security is somewhere between the extremes of razor wire and pepper spray , and the minimal effort of a `` no shoes , no shirt , no service '' sign .

A simple rule is that stores should be held liable for the increased risk they create -- especially when that risk creation is tied to a direct economic benefit . If a Black Friday sale devolves into the running of the bulls in Pamplona , and the store knowingly allowed dangerous conditions on the property , it 's likely that the store will be held liable for injuries on the premises .

It 's interesting that if you want to hold a rally or protest a grand jury , you might need a permit to exercise your First Amendment rights . But if you are a big-box retailer holding a big-box sale , it seems that as long as you are generating revenue and paying taxes , you can host the retail equivalent of Bonnaroo with nary a complaint . Ultimately , if a mall encourages this behavior , maybe it gets exactly what it deserves . Maybe the Black Friday retailer deserves the Black Friday shopper .

So the next time you make fun of people who set out on Christmas Eve for the mall , remember this : The smattering of losers like me may have waited until the last minute to get our shopping done , but at least no one gets hurt in the process .

@highlight

Danny Cevallos : Black Friday may be the most crazy commercial holiday of the year

@highlight

He says it 's odd that large retailers invite this chaos , and personal-injury lawsuits

@highlight

How do we evaluate a sales event that is more like running the bulls in Pamplona ? he asks

@highlight

Cevallos : Maybe the Black Friday retailer deserves the Black Friday shopper